Drifter’s Heart-Karen Wiesner

In Fever, Texas, flirtatious thirtyish Maggie May falls in love with forty-something drifter Ryder McCall. However, Ryder panics over his feelings and how great the sex was; he flees for the rodeo circuit breaking Maggie May’s heart though she believed he will come back to her one day. Maggie May becomes pregnant but tells no one who the father is; as she knows her dad will force the miscreant into a shotgun wedding and her mother believes the man has to be the best in the county for her Magpie to love him.

Four years later, Maggie May with help from her loving family raise hell-raising Little Tex. Ryder works as foreman at nearby Mackenzie’s Ranch (see Wings of Love) while his notable limp is a reminder of the severe near crippling injury caused by a bull. He avoids Maggie May out of fear he will not be able to run away from his heart this time while she runs towards his heart with his son in hand.

The sixth Cowboy Fever contemporary (see Losses and Gains, For Always, Taming April and The Only One) is a wonderful second chance ranch romance. The enjoyable storyline contains strong protagonists with the heroine knowing what she wants and the hero struggling between love and a dysfunctional childhood (due to his rodeo champion father). With the return of stars from the previous entries (see Cowboy Fever Series anthology for a delightful omnibus reprint of the fab five) enhancing the readers visit to Texas ranch country, fans will relish Karen Wiesner’s wonderful tale.